Crops department

Sorghum seed treatment

Monsanto's Asgrow and DeKalb sorghum hybrids will be available for the 2004 crop with Syngenta's seed treatment fungicides Maxim 4FS and Apron XL as well as the seed safener Concep III. Syngenta's products Maxim 4FS and Apron XL protect against major sorghum seedling diseases, including those caused by Fusarium and Pythium. Concep III is a seed safener that protects grain and forage sorghum from herbicide injury when using certain acetanilide herbicides for preemergent grass and broadleaf weed control.

New from Fontanelle

Fontanelle Hybrids is releasing 28 new seed products plus seed treatments for 2004. The new products include two corn rootworm hybrids, three corn borer hybrids, four Roundup Ready (RR) hybrids, four RR/corn borer stacked hybrids, two conventional hybrids and one waxy hybrid. The Nebraska company also is offering eight RR soybean varieties, a new forage sorghum and three new grain sorghums. Customers may add seed treatments including Poncho 250 and Poncho 1250.

Poncho sales boom

Growers won't have to look far for insecticide seed treatment in 2004. Gustafson reports more than 100 seed companies will offer the new Poncho 250, Poncho 1250 or both seed-applied insecticide products to seed corn customers. The list of seed corn companies covers more than 80% of all U.S. seed corn sales, according to Paul Holliday, Gustafson corn product manager. He reports that the response from seed companies surprised even Gustafson. He says the products fill a void: Poncho 250 provides a longer and higher level of protection against insects than Gaucho, and the high response to Poncho 1250 indicates growers don't want to handle soil-applied insecticides. Contact Gustafson at 972/985-8877 or visit www.gustafson.com.

Early plant protection

Garst Seed's new ProCoat seed treatment should be widely available for the 2004 crop. The new treatment gives added disease protection for soybeans when they are planted in wet and cold soils. The company says no-till growers using ProCoated seeds this past year saw improved germination.

Only Garst seed is treated with ProCoat, which includes Syngenta's ApronMaxx product. The treatment protects soybean seed from major soilborne diseases caused by Pythium, Phytophthora, Rhizoctonia and Fusarium. It also offers some protection from seedborne diseases caused by Sclerotinia and Phomopsis.

Treated in the bag, ProCoat is easy to use. It is colored blue and contains a small amount of polymer to make it user friendly. Contact Garst Seed Co., Dept. FIN, Box 500, Slater, IA 50244, visit www.garstseed.com or www.freeproductinfo.net/fin.

Dairyland Seed releases

Dairyland Seed recently announced its new lines of corn hybrids, soybean varieties and alfalfa hybrids for 2004. The company is selling 19 new corn hybrids: eight with the YieldGard rootworm trait, five with the YieldGard corn borer trait, two with the Roundup Ready (RR) trait, one with the YieldGard corn borer trait stacked with the RR event, and three conventional hybrids.

The new soybean varieties from Dairyland include eight with the RR trait and three with soybean cyst nematode resistance. The company is adding a second hybrid alfalfa to its list of products. The new alfalfa is HybriForce-420/wet that carries the unique branched-rooted trait.

Irrigation pipe by water type

The best material for irrigation pipe depends on what kind of water you have. John Davis, Reinke Manufacturing Company vice president of engineering, says chloride, sulfate and pH level are the three most influential elements in determining how corrosive water is. The amount of effluent in water is the other key factor in determining the most appropriate pipe.

Galvanized steel provides good corrosion protection under most conditions. “However,” Davis says, “low pH can be problematic for this type of pipe. A pH below six will dissolve the zinc, leaving unprotected bare steel.”

Davis suggests aluminum pipe for pH values below seven and no lower than five. In situations of extreme high or primarily low pH values, he says stainless steel is the best choice.

Stainless steel also is appropriate for water conditions that vary considerably. “For example, pH levels in food processing effluent can go from low to high frequently, and the materials in the water change as the process changes,” Davis says.

Concentrations of certain salts, oxygen content and temperatures are some other factors that can affect corrosion rates. Davis recommends growers test their water before purchasing a system.